Pa. man admits assaulting girlfriend in hospital

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man has admitted assaulting his girlfriend in the maternity ward of a suburban Philadelphia hospital amid an argument about what to name their newborn.

The Delaware County Daily Times reported Friday that 23-year-old Richard Lavon Davis Jr. of Philadelphia pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault in connection with the January 2012 incident at Lankenau Hospital in Lower Merion.

Montgomery County Judge Joseph Smyth sentenced Davis to eight to 23 months in the county jail and ordered him to complete a domestic violence counseling program.

Assistant District Attorney Wallis Brooks says it’s outrageous that an argument over the name of his newborn child would lead a new father to assault defenseless woman just recovering from childbirth.